This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A woman and child in Sandy were held captive for days before the woman was able to go onto Facebook to ask for help, according to police documents.

Sandy police on Saturday arrested Troy Critchfield, 33, on suspicion of kidnapping, sodomy, child abuse and animal cruelty. According to documents filed with the Salt Lake County jail, when Sandy police arrived at the home, the woman said Critchfield had held her and her son for four or five days, that Critchfield had beaten, choked and sodomized her and had "thrown" her 17-month-old son. Critchfield also hadn't fed the dog in five days, the woman said.

Critchfield had taken the woman's cellphone, but about 4:30 p.m. Saturday she was able to sneak into a closet and post a request for help on Facebook, documents say. The note also said she and her son would be dead by morning.

Court documents show Critchfield and the woman have a son together. Critchfield was convicted in 2010 of a felony-level assault against the woman. In February of this year a judge ordered him to serve 120 days in jail and three years probation.